Category Archives: people

GM Reorganizes Again – New Global Services Group

Posted on 11 June 2013 by Ken Zino

Tremblay’s appointment is effective 1 July 1. Her workers will come from employees in Finance, Human Resources, Facilities, Real Estate and Indirect Purchasing. When fully operational, Global Business Services will manage dozens of common processes across GM and include thousands of employees across the globe. The group is expected to reduce associated costs by at least 30% over the next four years. Whether the cost savings come from eliminating jobs was not immediately clear. Continue reading →

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Marchionne Apologizes for Being Irreverent

Posted on 21 May 2013 by Ken Zino

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has apologized to an organization called One Voice for his quip last January at the North American International Auto Show where he said Alfa Romeo models when re-introduced into North America should have Italian engines. Journalists present laughed it off as being typical of the straight talking executive who uses humor, including self-deprecating humor to make his points. Continue reading →

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North Carolina Man Charged in Odometer Fraud Scheme

Posted on 12 April 2013 by Ken Zino

The United States charged Francis Marimo, of Raleigh, NC with two counts of odometer tampering, according to the Department of Justice statement released today. The charges were filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on 10 April 2013, alleging that from 2008 through 2012, Marimo fraudulently caused odometers in used motor vehicles to be altered to reflect false, low mileages. Continue reading →

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Mega Commuters in U.S. Travel 90 Minutes or More to Work

Posted on 4 April 2013 by Ken Zino

More than 8% of U.S. workers have commutes of 60 minutes or longer and almost 600,000 full-time workers are mega commuters with journeys of at least 90 minutes and 50 miles. The average one-way daily commute for workers across the U.S. is 25.5 minutes, and one in four commuters leaves their county to work. The data come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey, which provides local statistics on a variety of topics for even the smallest communities. Continue reading →

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Absolute Fuels Guilty in $42 Million Bio-Diesel Credit Scam

Posted on 31 March 2013 by Ken Zino

A bio-diesel fuel company owner was sentenced to 188 months in prison for crimes connected to an illegal fuels scheme and also fined $175,000 and ordered to pay nearly $55 million in restitution. In what appears to be a badly run government program of renewable fuel tax credits, Jeffrey Gunselman, 30, the owner of Absolute Fuels was able to defraud the Environmental Protection Agency for more than a year by falsely representing that he was in the business of producing bio-diesel fuel. Continue reading →

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Ford Motor Misses Targets Cuts CEO Pay to ‘Only’ $21 Million

Posted on 15 March 2013 by Ken Zino

In the bizarre world of 0.1-percenters, Ford Motor Company cut CEO Alan Mulally’s compensation by almost 30% because the quality-challenged company missed its 2012 goals. Even so Mulally earned $2,000,000 in salary and $3,950,000 in cash bonus in 2012. His total listed compensation in 2012 – including the grant date value of long-term stock options and other performance-based equity awards – was $20,995,806. This is a drop from his $2 million in salary, $5.46 million in bonus and $22 million in other compensation for 2011. Continue reading →

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Henrik Fisker Out at Fisker Automotive, the Firm He Co-Founded

Posted on 13 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Fisker Automotive announced today the resignation of its Executive Chairman, Henrik Fisker who in turn said there were disagreements with the oft-changing management team, which had three different CEOs during 2012. Fisker, a car designer by trade, had been executive chairman of the hybrid electric car company that he helped found in 2007. Continue reading →

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Dallas Resident is OnStar’s 2012 Good Samaritan of the Year

Posted on 12 March 2013 by Ken Zino

In advance of National Good Samaritan Day on Wednesday, OnStar named Tyler Andrews its 2012 Good Samaritan of the Year. The Dallas resident while driving onto the southbound entrance ramp of the Dallas North Toll Way in his GMC Sierra last year saw a Ford Expedition stopped in the middle of the ramp. Andrews pulled alongside the vehicle and found an unresponsive man, along with his wife and three daughters. Continue reading →

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GM to Hire 1,000 Information Technology People in Phoenix Suburb

Posted on 8 March 2013 by Ken Zino

General Motors is hiring 1,000 people for an Information Technology office in a Phoenix suburb, joining Austin, Texas, Roswell, Georgia and Warren, Michigan as part of GM’s strategy to bring IT work in house. GM said it would hire more than 4,000 new information technology workers over the next three to five years to staff the four centers. So far, more than 1,000 employees have been hired for the other three sites. Continue reading →

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Toyota Promotes an American Executive to key Job in Nagoya Headquarters

Posted on 7 March 2013 by Ken Zino

A significant move is promoting Mark S. Templin, from group vice president and general manager – Lexus Division in the U.S. to managing officer and executive vice president of Lexus International, where he will lead Lexus global operations from Toyota City, Japan. Templin is the first non-Japanese executive to oversee a Toyota division within the company’s global headquarters in Japan. Continue reading →

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Shaq is Back in New TV Ad for Buick LaCrosse

Posted on 1 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Shaquille O’Neal in an encore performance returns to TV screens across the country this weekend in a new Buick TV spot titled “More Than I Expected.” The advertisement is the latest in the “You Don’t Know Buick” campaign. During February, Buick sales led by the Enclave at 5,241 crossovers rose 15%. However, the LaCrosse sedan, which is due to be revised later this year, dropped 30% to 3,700 units. Continue reading →

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Tim Mahoney New Chief Marketing Officer Chevrolet

Posted on 25 February 2013 by Ken Zino

General Motors today named Tim Mahoney as Chief Marketing Officer Global Chevrolet and Global GM Marketing Operations Leader, effective 1 April. Mahoney joins Chevrolet from Volkswagen. Mahoney will report to Alan Batey, GM Vice President, U.S. Sales and Service, and interim GM Global Chief Marketing Officer. Continue reading →

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Clean Green Fuel Owner Guilty in $9 Million in Bio-Diesel Scam

Posted on 22 February 2013 by Ken Zino

A U.S. District Judge today sentenced Rodney R. Hailey, of Perry Hall, Maryland to nearly 12 years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for selling $9 million in renewable fuel credits that he falsely claimed were produced by his company, Clean Green Fuel, LLC. Hailey, age 34, was convicted in June of 2012 on eight counts of wire fraud, 32 counts of money laundering, and two counts of violating the Clean Air Act. He has been detained since the guilty verdict.

Hailey made more than $9.1 million from selling the false credits, and used the proceeds of the scheme to purchase luxury vehicles, including BMWs, a Mercedes Benz, a Rolls Royce Phantom, a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati and others, as well as real estate and more than $80,000 in diamond jewelry. In all of these transactions, Hailey generally used cash or checks drawn on accounts he controlled to make the purchase, including a check for $645,330.15 to buy his home in Maryland. Continue reading →

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U.S. Sues Lance Armstrong for False Racing Sponsorship Claims

Posted on 22 February 2013 by Ken Zino

From 1996 through 2004, the USPS sponsored a professional cycling team owned by Tailwind and its predecessors. Between 2001 and 2004 alone, the Postal Service paid $31 million in sponsorship fees. (Imagine how much could be recovered only the Justice Department went after its friends at the Wall Street firms, banks and ratings agencies that cost taxpayers billions upon billions of dollars because of false claims in the sub-prime mortgage business.)
Continue reading →

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Renault-Nissan Open an Automotive Electronics Office

Posted on 19 February 2013 by Ken Zino

Buyers aged 35 and under who grew up with myriad consumer-electronic-devices are particularly vocal about the design failures of automotive electronics. This is a growing problem for the product development departments of automakers that are largely managed by older white males. Continue reading →

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